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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25592914">Kele and Dominic- cut scenes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loony_lynny/pseuds/Loony_lynny'>Loony_lynny</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Papergirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Coi Greenwood is a good bro, Cute, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Freeform, I Don't Even Know, M/M, i hate writing slurs but that's real life and it sucks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:20:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,781</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25592914</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loony_lynny/pseuds/Loony_lynny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>These are all little slices of life from before, after, and during the events of The Papergirl. It's focused on Dom and Kele's relationship (obviously; it's in the title) and not always canon-compliant. They're usually just little ideas that pop up in my head, so they don't always line up with each other. None of them are really complete, but I will intermittently add to them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anna Malachi/Minerva Kohl, Kele Greenwood/Dominic Malachi, Nahele Greenwood/Kaniya Greenwood</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The last game, pt. 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This one is pretty long, so I'm splitting it into two separate parts. It wasn't my initial plan to put them together, but they just fit so perfectly I couldn't help it. </p><p>Anyway, excerpt...<br/>------------------------------<br/>“What?” Dom asked shyly, catching Kele staring at him softly. Kele bit his lip and tilted his head to the side, fixing Dom with an open, vulnerable look.<br/>“I love you,” he answered quietly, squeezing Dom’s hand. Dom smiled, cheeks dimpling. He squirmed in his seat, a rosy blush settling at the tops of his cheekbones and the tips of his ears.<br/>“I love you, too,” he said back, sliding his ankle past Kele’s.<br/>---<br/>“There are children here, you know,” was her opener. Weak, if you asked Kele. They were the kids in there.<br/>“We are the kids in here,” Dom had the same thought and voiced it. Kele smirked but tamped it down when she turned her shrewd eye on him.<br/>“Y’all’d do well to keep your homosexuality out of the public eye,” was her next warning.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Their hands were loosely entwined on the table. Kele sipped lemonade while Dom talked about his classes. Mavis, a college-aged waitress who probably knew everything about them by now, dropped off the check and patted their hands. Dom stopped in the middle of a story about his philosophy course to smile and thank her. Kele watched him gush out a thank you, eyes shining with acceptance. When Dom turned back, light from the sun shining through the window catching in his eyes and changing them from brown to gold, reminiscent of light through a drop of honey, Kele was struck with a sudden realization that came like a blow to the chest. Dominic’s messy black curls were perfectly settled around his head, his freckles standing out across his reddened skin, a testament to their outdoor adventure with Coi yesterday. </p>
<p>“What?” Dom asked shyly, catching Kele staring at him softly. Kele bit his lip and tilted his head to the side, fixing Dom with an open, vulnerable look. </p>
<p>“I love you,” he answered quietly, squeezing Dom’s hand. Dom smiled, cheeks dimpling. He squirmed in his seat, a rosy blush settling at the tops of his cheekbones and the tips of his ears. </p>
<p>“I love you, too,” he said back, sliding his ankle past Kele’s. </p>
<p>“Oh, so you’re resorting to footsie now,” Kele teased, catching Dom’s foot between his ankles. Dom’s response was cut off by a woman in her 30’s approaching their table. They looked up at her, knowing what was to come. Dom drew his foot back to himself and Kele’s heart panged suddenly. </p>
<p>“There are children here, you know,” was her opener. Weak, if you asked Kele. They were the kids in there.</p>
<p>“We are the kids in here,” Dom had the same thought and voiced it. Kele smirked but tamped it down when she turned her shrewd eye on him. </p>
<p>“Y’all’d do well to keep your homosexuality out of the public eye,” was her next warning, and it came off as a vague threat. Kele was shocked at her open disapproval-- no, condemnation-- of them. He stared up at her in disbelief.</p>
<p>“Or what, you’ll burn us at the stake?” He asked incredulously, still not entirely sure how seriously he should be taking this. Dom kicked him under the table and he broke eye contact with the woman. He couldn’t stake to stare into hateful eyes any longer. He grabbed his wallet and started to pull out tip money to avoid looking at her again. </p>
<p>“What’s going on over here? Is there a problem?” Mavis, bless her heart, came over to save them. Soccer mom thought she was the one being wronged and promptly turned to Mavis, saying, “these boys are spreading their homosexuality to all the children. Please make them leave.” Mavis’s eyes widened a little bit. </p>
<p>“Jesus Christ, lady,” Mavis muttered, “Kele or Dominic, you have anything to add?” </p>
<p>“You know these fags?” the woman looked disgusted, drawing away from Mavis. Kele saw Dom roll his eyes, more out of annoyance than anger, curbing the fire bubbling from deep within him. </p>
<p>“Yes, they’re regular customers, I was a class ahead of Dominic,” she explained her relation to them, “So, anything else?” She turned to Dom and Kele again. </p>
<p>“Oh, no, nothing. We were just sitting here quietly, finishing up. Being in love and stuff.” Dom piped up, pulling Kele’s hand to his mouth and kissing his knuckles, keeping direct eye contact with the older lady. Her hateful eyes burned into his. </p>
<p>“Yeah, it was so nice and calm and I was telling my boyfriend how much I love him, and then this lady came up and told us we were disgusting human beings for being in love.” Kele blinked up at Mavis innocently. She shook her head at him playfully, fully understanding the situation. </p>
<p>“Well, ma’am, I will be asking someone to leave, but it’s you,” Mavis feigned sympathy, clasping her hands together sweetly. </p>
<p>“I beg your pardon?” The woman put a hand to her chest to dramatize the moment. Dom smirked into his lap to keep himself from laughing at the intense dramatics of the situation. Kele shifted his foot just enough to nudge Dom’s shoe with his own. </p>
<p>“It’s okay, Mav, we were just about to leave anyway.” Kele swung his legs out, preparing to stand. He fumbled with his wallet again and handed Mavis a twenty. </p>
<p>“Keep the change,” he winked good-naturedly and stood up, holding out his hand out to Dom, who took it with gusto. The soccer mom wasn’t short, but standing next to Kele made her appear so. She left hastily, apparently not interested anymore. </p>
<p>“I always do.” Mavis plucked the twenty from his fingers and waved them out the door. Kele heard the bell jingle a second time and heavy footfalls behind them. His heart sped up and his stomach clenched, freezing over with fear. He picked up the pace, putting his arm around Dom’s shoulder and leaning in close. </p>
<p>“I think that lady sent her husband or something after us,” he explained quietly, “don’t you dare turn around right now, just get in the car.” He placed a hand on the back of Dom’s head to keep him from confronting their apparent stalker. He unlocked the car from a distance and opened Dom’s door for him before practically sliding across the hood to slide into the driver’s seat. He locked the doors manually before even starting the car, heart pounding in his chest. He grabbed Dom’s hand with a new ferocity, not daring to look outside. </p>
<p>“I love you,” he said intensely, staring straight into Dom’s eyes, “and no one is ever going to take that away from me.” He brought his other hand up to brush his thumb across Dom’s cheekbone. </p>
<p>“I know, baby, it’s okay,” Dom held onto Kele’s wrists, his eyes sad but his lips pressed into a thin, determined line. He went to kiss Kele and wasn’t surprised when he pulled away. He found that this fear-fueled rejection didn’t hurt, it just made him want to change the world. What a cruel thing hate was. That it could strike fear in one of the strongest men he knew was a horrible mystery. Dom looked at Kele, sitting in the driver’s seat with his hands tight on the wheel, jaw set with anger and eyebrows drawn in a mix of confusion and sadness. Dominic said nothing; there was nothing to say. He took Kele’s other hand and let Kele take the time to process and to be angry, as was his right. Moments of silence passed before Kele swallowed the lump in his throat and turned the car on. Even pulling out of a boxed-in parallel parking place, Kele kept his hand in Dom’s, unwilling to give up the contact. </p>
<p>Kele seemed calmer by the time they got back to his house. He turned the car off and then immediately turned and kissed Dom, his fingers threading through short hair up into fluffy curls. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” he said as he pulled away. </p>
<p>“Don’t be. I get it.”</p>
<p>“I love you.”</p>
<p>“I know.” Dom smiled as Kele recognized the reference from both Star Wars and a conversation they had early in their relationship.<br/>
They were greeted by Coi and Kaniya as soon as they walked through the door. They were at the kitchen table having tea over a book. </p>
<p>“Hey, losers,” Coi called, as was her typical greeting, without looking up from the line she was reading. </p>
<p>“How was your breakfast, boys?” Kaniya asked, elbowing Coi gently for her comment. </p>
<p>“Uh, good… for the most part,” Dom answered slowly, glancing sideways at his boyfriend, silently asking if he wanted to air that dirty laundry to his family. Wheels turned in<br/>
Kele’s head. He didn’t want their sympathy, but they should know. </p>
<p>“What do you mean by that?” Kaniya asked, leaning forward to train her attention on them. Coi finally gained enough interest to look up from her book. </p>
<p>“We were, um…” Kele was very fidgety, obviously uncomfortable. Dom felt Kele’s hand grow sweaty and squeezed it, taking over.</p>
<p>“We were harassed by a random woman and then someone followed us to our car.” Dom compounded the morning’s occurrences into a single sentence, trying not to seem too casual.<br/>
“What? Boys, are you alright?” Kaniya stood up from her seat, concern etching lines in her face. Kele was practically squirming in his skin. </p>
<p>“Yeah, just a little… shaken,” Dom chose his words carefully, eyeing Kele. He saw the frustration in the set of his jaw, anger in his eyebrows, overwhelming disappointment and sadness in his eyes. </p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah we’re fine,” Kele assured her, pulling her into a hug. She was surprised but wrapped her arms around him and rocked them back and forth, making Kele laugh despite his dour mood. No matter the circumstances, his mom always made him feel better. </p>
<p>“Thanks, mom,” he murmured into her hair. Coi was standing impatiently behind them, waiting in line for her hug. Kele laughed and picked her up with the force of his hug and spun her around. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry people are like that,” she whispered between laughs, “do you want to make a video about it with me?”</p>
<p>“Not today,” he answered quietly, returning her to the ground, “love you.” He ruffled her hair affectionately and immediately skedaddled out of the room to avoid her yelling at him for ruining her hair. He waited for Dominic about halfway up the stairs. Dom chuckled softly at something Kele couldn’t hear before following him to the second floor.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Last Game, pt. 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Y'all already know this is a continuation of the previous short. I'm now realizing I could have done it in one but it would've been kind of long.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i just want you to know that i personally hate David Malachi</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“My dad wants to come to my last game party,” Dom said out of nowhere, curled against Kele. They were laying in Kele’s bed enjoying each other’s company (and warmth). </p>
<p>“Do you want him there?” Kele asked quietly, turning his head to look directly at Dom, knowing exactly how Dom felt about his dad. He also knew that Dom could never lie to his face. Dom kept his gaze for a few moments before groaning and turning to push his face into Kele’s chest. </p>
<p>“I mean, I don’t know!” He confessed, pulling away to lay flat on his back, “I haven’t seen my dad in years. He didn’t even come to my graduation. Or Anna’s, either of them.” He was glaring at the white ceiling. Kele knew he was trying to not cry in front of him. He thought about all he’d heard about Dom’s dad from him, Anna, and their mom and rolled over to pull Dom back into his arms. </p>
<p>“He just wants the recognition that his son is playing for a college team. He doesn’t care about me. He was never even a part of my life, he left before I was even a half a year old, I--” His voice, which had been getting gradually louder, stuttered to a stop, shaky sobs taking over. He clung to Kele’s shirt. Kele squeezed him reassuringly, knowing he wouldn’t be able to do anything else. </p>
<p>“I don’t want him there,” Dom admitted shakily, “but I feel like I can’t say no. There are some things he doesn’t know that he probably should.” Kele couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped out. At least Dom could joke about it. </p>
<p>“Have you talked about it with your mom?” Kele asked, pressing a kiss to Dom’s sticky cheek. Dom sniffed and brought a hand up to wipe the tears from his face. </p>
<p>“She said it was my choice, but I think we all know she’d be the first to kick his ass if he does anything out of line.” Dom giggled like he was imagining his tiny little mother beating the crap out of his dad. </p>
<p>“Now that’s a fight I’d like to see,” Kele laughed. Dom’s smile faded, thinking hard about this decision. </p>
<p>“I think I’m going to let him come,” he decided, “but if he does or says anything, he’s out.” Kele couldn’t begin to imagine all the possible things that could go wrong, but he said nothing. This was Dom’s decision, and he would respect that and wait to see it play out. </p>
<p>	The day of the game came quickly. Thea was awake and cleaning everything in sight, despite having already cleaned it the day before. Dom was still in his room, undoubtedly being roused from sleep by Kele, who had spent the night. Thea had warned him in a low voice that he wasn’t allowed to do anything that would affect Dom’s playing, to which Kele had blushed and agreed. Anna was up relatively early to help out, sliding into the kitchen in jean shorts and an ASU soccer jersey. Dom and Kele entered much later, both in their sleep clothes, which consisted of loose shorts or boxers and old t-shirts. </p>
<p>	“Morning, ladies,” Kele greeted, making sure Dom actually made it into a chair before turning to help Thea with breakfast. </p>
<p>	“Oh, Kele, thank you,” Thea stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. </p>
<p>	“Yeah, no problem, mom,” he said casually. The kitchen went silent. He realized what he’d said and spun around to apologize. Anna was grinning from the table, Dom looked actually awake, and Thea had tears in her eyes. </p>
<p>	“I’m… sorry?” he wasn’t sure what to say in response to these mixed reactions. </p>
<p>	“No! Don’t apologize, come here,” She barreled into a hug, which Kele returned confusedly. Dom nodded encouragingly at him, smiling tentatively. They heard the front door open and Kele pulled away to see who it was. Thea took his hand and squeezed it. A woman he had only seen in pictures walked into the kitchen, looking nervous. </p>
<p>“Minerva!” Anna jumped up from the table and ran to the kitchen entryway to hug her girlfriend. Dom perked up, excited to finally meet Minerva. </p>
<p>“Hi!” he said, standing up and pushing Anna out of the way to get his own hug, “I’ve heard so much about you!” Minerva looked shocked, hugging back automatically. Kele figured he’d be a little shaken if he were hugged enthusiastically by a random person in only boxers and a t-shirt. </p>
<p>“Same here,” she said slowly. Her voice was deep and rich as she looked around the kitchen. Thea walked over next, wrapping her into a hug just the same as she did Kele when she first met him. </p>
<p>“Welcome to the family, Minerva,” she smiled widely. Anna laughed excitedly and kissed Minerva on the cheek from behind. She looked expectantly at Kele. </p>
<p>“Hey,” he waved with a spatula, smiling in her direction, “I’m Kele, Dom’s boyfriend.” He introduced himself. As if summoned by mention of his name, Dom appeared to plaster himself to Kele’s side. There was another knock on the door. </p>
<p>“Oh, that’s probably the rest of my family,” Kele handed his spatula to Dom and hurried to get the door. It was not, however, his family. It was a man he had never seen before, although he knew instantly who it was.</p>
<p>“Oh, sorry, I must have the wrong house.” The man went to turn away.</p>
<p>“No, you’ve got the right house. You’re David Malachi, right?” He said, not sure what else to do. He heard the conversation behind him stop. Thea came to the door, face tight and determined. </p>
<p>“Hello, David,” she greeted him icily. Kele took a step behind her, not about to get in her way. He heard car doors slam and looked up to see his family walking up. He waved and watched them all walk awkwardly past Dom’s dad. </p>
<p>“Hi there, the kids are all in the kitchen,” Thea smiled at them as they passed. Kele moved to let them past him and almost ran into Dom. </p>
<p>“Sorry,” he apologized absentmindedly, nodding to Coi when she walked by. She fist-bumped Dom on her way to the kitchen. Once everyone was in, Dom and Kele turned back to the tense situation outside. Thea seemed unable to say anything civil, so she waved at him to come in and walked through the boys to get to the kitchen. She looked exhausted, even though it was only 8:30. Kele and Dom exchanged a look before booking it to the kitchen to avoid small talk and awkward hallway introductions. Coi was sitting on the table, talking to Minerva and Anna, so they settled on either side of Ahanu. </p>
<p>“What do you guys want?” he looked up from his phone, concerned with their rush. Kele shrugged and Dom waved off his suspicion.</p>
<p>“To avoid my dad, mostly,” Dom admitted under his breath. Kele smacked his arm behind Ahanu.</p>
<p>“Oh, as if I care,” Dom snarked grumpily. </p>
<p>“Still, you’ve got to make it the whole day now,” Kele reminded him. Ahanu looked between them, confused. Kele ruffled his hair to annoy him, earning himself a kick to the shins. Kaniya looked over sharply, telling them off with a look. David stepped into the kitchen and it suddenly felt stuffy. Coi, who was very good at keeping uncomfortable situations calm, continued with her conversation, probably to keep Anna’s attention away from her dad. Kele noticed Minerva wrap a comforting hand around Anna’s waist. Thea turned to Kele’s parents and started to talk about grown-up stuff and scheduling. With Ahanu looking at his phone, Kele and Dom were the only ones left for David to possibly talk to. Dom was obviously tense, so Kele put it upon himself to fix it. He tapped Dom’s shoulder and asked him quietly if he was packed. Dom didn’t quite understand, but his answer was no anyway, so he grabbed Kele’s wrist and dragged him out of the kitchen, passing by his dad without a word. </p>
<p>“Can you go grab my shin guards out of the laundry room?” he asked. Kele nodded and slipped into the laundry room, keeping an eye on David from there. He grabbed Dom’s shin guards and his other soccer gear. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Anna push Minerva’s hand away and his heart broke a little bit for her. He left the laundry room with his arms full of gear and headed back to Dom’s room. He’d done nothing by way of packing the previous night, so he was feverishly shoving all his stuff into a duffel bag. </p>
<p>“Hey, calm down, we don’t have to leave for, like, another hour,” he set the gear down. Dom stopped what he was doing and slumped over. Concerned, Kele rushed over and pulled him up onto the bed. </p>
<p>“Stop, stop, I’m fine, I just…” there were tears welling in his eyes, “He wasn’t supposed to get here this early! And I know it’s a stupid thing to cry about, but I just don’t know what to do. Do I talk to him? I wouldn’t even know what to say!” he looked up, blinking to hold back the tears. Kele tilted his head back down gently. </p>
<p>“It’s okay to cry about it. I know it’s hard for you to look at the man that abandoned you, especially when it seems like he’s only here for the pseudo-fame. I’m always here for you to fall back on.” Kele said softly, kissing him once and pulling him into his arms. Dom let his tears fall, letting Kele reposition them so they were laying down, Dom’s face nestled in the crook of Kele’s neck. They stayed like that for a while, waiting out the storm. Eventually, Dom pushed himself out of bed to finish packing his things. Thea knocked in the door, asking if they were ready. </p>
<p>“Yeah, mom, be out in a minute,” Dom called, fully recharged after a half-hour of cuddling. Kele smiled softly from the bed and followed him out of the room. </p>
<p>	Three separate arguments broke out over who was riding with who, but in the end, there were three cars, one with Kele’s whole family, one with the Malachis, Minerva, and Kele, and one with just David. Dom was in the middle of the backseat and was nearly vibrating. Kele found out very quickly that Thea was not a fan of speed limits. To be fair, they were leaving a little bit late. Minerva was leaning forward talking to Anna, so Dom turned to Kele to start up a random conversation. </p>
<p>	“Have you started wrestling season yet?” he asked, knowing high school soccer was nearing an end, as was his own season.</p>
<p>	“As soon as we lose in the postseason I’ll start practices with everyone else. Why?” he asked. He was already leaning against the window, so Dom leaned over to whisper in his ear.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>	“I was just wondering how soon I could see you in that suit,” he whispered hotly, nipping at Kele’s ear before pulling away, satisfied at how flustered he made Kele. Kele’s cheekbones were an alarming shade of red, which Minerva noticed and gave him an odd look about. He shook his head at her. The moment she went back to talking to Anna, Kele grabbed Dom by his shirt and pulled him close.</p>
<p>	“You can see me in it any time, but I’m sure you’d much rather see me without it,” he hissed quietly, before kissing him chastely and pushing him back to the middle seat. He stared intently out the window, trying to calm himself down. Dom sat, stunned, for a few moments before he whirled around and grabbed Kele’s shoulders. He turned him around and kissed him forcefully. Anna and Minerva looked over slowly with wide, judgmental eyes. Kele’s eyes fluttered shut, as they would in a situation like this one.</p>
<p>	“Guys, what the hell?” Anna asked. Dom pulled back suddenly, leaving Kele flustered against the window. </p>
<p>	“Sorry, Annie,” Dom smirked cheekily in her direction, “Had to remind him who was in charge.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Kele, who raised his eyebrows in return. </p>
<p>	“I would be willing to bet a lot of money that it isn’t you, bro, sorry,” Minerva reasoned. Kele outright laughed at that. Minerva would fit in nicely here.</p>
<p>	“You’d win that bet,” he told her, reaching up to take hold of Dom’s chin. </p>
<p>	“I’m being suffocated by the amount of sexual tension in this car, would you knuckleheads knock it off?” Thea called from the front seat, where she’d stayed quiet until now. There was a moment of silence before Minerva let out a shy laugh. Dom puffed his cheeks out in an attempt to hold back his laughter. It failed, and he leaned forward to press his forehead against Kele’s chest, laughing. Thea and Anna shook their heads in unison. </p>
<p>	The rest of the hour was quiet. Dom leaned his head on Kele’s shoulder while he read a book. Minerva continued talking to Anna and getting to know Thea, leaned forward with her elbow on the console, her chin in her hand. Coi was snapchatting Dom pictures of Ahanu with weird filters on, making Dom snigger every once in a while, shoving his phone at Kele. As soon as they pulled into the parking lot, Dom was jumping out with his duffel and kissing his mom and boyfriend goodbye. When the rest of the crew arrived, they all walked to their seats, right near the field. Kele watched the team’s warm-ups, waving at any players that recognized him. He was sitting in between Minerva and Thea, both of whom were talking to their other neighbors. He leaned over to scope out where Coi was sitting. She was stuck between Ahanu and their dad, looking very bored. </p>
<p>	“Yo, dad,” he said. No response. “Father.” Nothing. “Nahele Greenwood.” Still no acknowledgment. “Dad!” Nahele looked up when Kele shouted. </p>
<p>“What?” he asked crossly. Kele gave him a look of annoyance. </p>
<p>“Switch seats with me.”</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>“Does it matter? Just do it.” Kele was already standing up. Nahele grumbled but got up and switched seats. Kele plopped down next to Coi and accidentally made eye contact with David. He looked away quickly and leaned over to Coi.</p>
<p>“You’re not allowed to make any boyfriend comments today, okay?” He pleaded. “His dad doesn’t know, and I want that to be something that Dom tells him personally.” Coi nodded, understanding how much this would mean to Dom. They sat back and watched the game progress slowly, cheering on their favorites and, of course, Dominic. As a freshman, he didn’t have a high amount of game time, but it was interesting to watch nonetheless. Kele even heard some cheering from David. They won by a singular point, not uncommon in soccer but exciting anyway. Dom joined his team for photos and then went in to change, leaving the two families waiting outside, chatting amiably. They all mobbed Dom when he came out of the locker room. He laughed and hugged everyone, pausing minutely when he came to his dad.</p>
<p>“Good job out there, Dominic,” he said quietly, a hint of pride in his voice. Dom bro-hugged him and mumbled an awkward thanks. The ride home was much louder but Dom still managed to fall asleep on Kele, exhausted. </p>
<p>	Back at the house, Kele kissed Dom’s hair and shook him gently. He sat up slowly, lines from Kele’s shirt pressed into his cheek, his hair going in the wrong direction. </p>
<p>	“Hi,” Kele said quietly, smiling at the dazed look on Dom’s face. Dom blinked and rubbed the sleep from his face. </p>
<p>	“Hey,” he murmured. Kele smiled again and opened the car door, getting out and stretching his whole body. It was well-needed after such a long car ride.  Dom groaned and rolled his way out of the car, rolling his neck and shoulders. Anna elbowed him in the side and whispered something in his ear. </p>
<p>	“Yeah, I guess,” was all Kele heard of the conversation. Dom flashed a pained smile in his direction and walked ahead of everyone else into the house. Kele stood back and watched everyone file in, David last before himself. He knew people would be here soon, extended family and friends, and wondered how bad this could possibly be. </p>
<p>	Kele could not have been more unhappy to be right. Dom and Anna had gone directly to the backyard to start setting up. Kele decided to help in the kitchen again, getting the feeling that they were having an important conversation. David was still being carefully avoided by almost everyone. Thea made a tentative conversation with him, being the only one who really knew him. Kele’s parents had roped Ahanu into helping them take all the food outside. He followed them out, assuming everyone would be out in a few minutes anyway. He settled on a pool chair and closed his eyes, waiting for hell to break loose. </p>
<p>	“Uh, Kele, I need you,” a shadow blocked the sun from his face. He opened his eyes expectantly to see his boyfriend fidgeting above him. He sighed deeply and got up, knowing it had everything to do with him and there was no way to avoid it. He let Dom lead him over to David and prepared himself for the worst. </p>
<p>	“Hey, uh, dad,” he started, talking quietly as if this conversation wouldn’t attract the attention of everyone at this house and the next. David turned his full attention to Dom, leaving a dry conversation with Thea. Kele made eye contact with Thea and tried to express his fears via facial expression.</p>
<p>	“So, thanks for coming to my game,” Dom scratched his head awkwardly like there were other things he would like to say, “there’s someone I want you to meet.” Kele didn’t miss the way David’s eyes automatically flicked to Coi, who had joined their little group. She was a sucker for drama. Dom must have seen this too because his shoulders drooped. He reached back to grab Kele’s hand. </p>
<p>	“This is my boyfriend, Kele Greenwood.” Kele watched David turn to him slowly, multiple emotions flurrying across his face. Kele squeezed Dom’s hand in the silence, waiting for any response from David. He settled with pursed lips and a look that Kele wouldn’t exactly describe as acceptance. </p>
<p>	“So you’re gay,” he said. Behind him, Thea looked like she was about to facepalm. If ever there was a ‘lord help me’ face, that was it. Coi was living for the awkward tension in the yard. </p>
<p>	“Yeah. You would already know that if you were here for my sixteenth birthday. Because that’s when I came out to mom and Anna.” Dom told him bluntly. David looked like he was still digesting the news. </p>
<p>	“So you knew and didn’t tell me?” He turned to Thea accusingly. </p>
<p>	“This wasn’t mine to tell, David,” she replied coolly. Dom smiled at her. </p>
<p>	“If I’d have known you were a faggot I wouldn’t have come. Drove all the way here for a disappointment,” David’s eyebrows drew together angrily.  Jesus Christ, it had taken barely ten seconds for David to assess the news and decide to insult his son. Kele was stunned at the escalation. A quick look around him told him he wasn’t the only one. </p>
<p>	“Then leave. You seem to be good at that.” Dom shot back, anger burning in his stomach and bubbling up his throat. Kele could feel the heat of Dom’s disappointment and sadness where their hands were tangled together. </p>
<p>	“I didn’t want you here anyway,” Dom added softly, turning away. Anna passed him as he walked away. Kele wrapped his arms around Dom’s shoulders, whispering comfort in his ear. </p>
<p>	“Well, David, while you’re still here,” Anna said, loud and unafraid, “this is my girlfriend Minerva.” She stared him down like a beast does prey, determined. </p>
<p>	“You too? God, Thea, what did you do to them? Should’ve never had them in the first place,” he turned to her, disgusted. At his words, she puffed up with motherly rage. </p>
<p>	“How dare you speak about them like that? You don’t know a thing about them!” Thea shouted, furious, “You think you get to just show up when it will make you look good and then leave again when things don’t go exactly how you wanted them? And to come here and say out loud that you wish they’d never been born in the first place? You have no right! No right!” There were tears shining in her eyes, threatening to spill over. Someone cleared their throat from the back door. Thea’s parents were standing there, holding food, and looking like they were about to throw down a diss track about David. </p>
<p>	“It’s been a long time, David,” Thea’s mom said shortly, “It’s a shame it wasn’t longer.” Coi grinned at her, sensing the oncoming storm. </p>
<p>	“Grandma!” Dom ran over to take her food and give her a hug, “That’s my boyfriend, Kele, the boy I was telling you about?” He pointed at Kele and smiled brightly. </p>
<p>	“Oh, he’s cute,” she gushed, waving to Kele and then to Minerva, who she’d already met. Dom smiled automatically and agreed. David was getting more and more annoyed by the minute. As if that wasn’t enough for him, his own parents were the next to show up. They got the same hug and introduction to Kele and Minerva. </p>
<p>	“Mom? Dad? What are you two doing here?” David demanded. </p>
<p>	“Well, we’re here to celebrate our grandkids! I didn’t know you were going to be here,” she greeted him with a hug because he was, after all, her son. </p>
<p>	“He’s not, Gigi, you missed his spiel about being disappointed in me because I’m gay,” Dom kissed her on the cheek and swept what she brought out of her hands.</p>
<p>	“David!” she chastised. He didn’t even shrink back to his mother, prejudice rearing its ugly head again. </p>
<p>	“Come on, mom, you never had to deal with shit like this,” he complained loudly, “both of my kids are fags with blacks for partners!” Kele immediately found Minerva and they shared a look. What a douche! </p>
<p>	“Wow. I’ve heard the term ‘blind prejudice’ but this is the first time I’ve seen it in action.” Kele addressed David for the first time. “Are you colorblind or can you just not stand to look at the disappointment your son is dating for long enough to figure out that I am decidedly not African-American. Maybe the dark skin threw you off, but I am a full-blood Native American. I know they say that you shouldn’t see color, but you could at least try. I’m planning on staying in your family for a good long while.” </p>
<p>	“Damn, baby, I love it when you get all worked up.” Dom slapped Kele’s ass softly and then side-hugged him. </p>
<p>	“That was a lot of big words, are you sure he got it all?” Anna asked with fake concern. Thea laughed openly, no longer caring what her ex-husband thought of their family. </p>
<p>	“Look, dad, you can either accept that your kids are raging homosexuals or you can disown us and leave, but I’d prefer it if you chose before all the other guests get here,” Dom laid out the options for his dad, who looked lost and angry. He looked around at all the people staring him down, waiting for his answer, and left without another word. Dom clenched his teeth and swallowed roughly, the joking atmosphere leaving with David. A cold pit formed in the bottom of Dom’s stomach. </p>
<p>	“Well, that went well,” Thea said, pulling Dom into a tight hug. She rubbed circles into his back and squeezed him extra tight before letting go. She was surprised to see there was minimal reaction going on, no tears or angry eyebrows. </p>
<p>	“You seem calm,” she commented, wary. He tilted his head like something suddenly made sense to him. </p>
<p>	“I don’t care.” His face remained passive. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	“What?”</p>
<p>	“I don’t care! His not accepting me doesn’t make me feel worthless. It doesn’t make me feel… anything. I mean, it’s shitty, but it’s no different than if a stranger said it. He doesn’t matter enough to me to make it hurt. Huh.” Dom was grinning, back to his own optimistic self. He nodded strangely, hyping himself up and re-energizing. Anna laughed and copied him mockingly. Now she held Minerva’s hand proudly in her own and danced her around the patio. Coi, feeling left out, dragged Ahanu off to dance with her. Thea shook her head fondly and rejoined the adults, turning on the Bluetooth speaker and linking her phone to Dom’s favorite playlist. </p>
<p>	Eventually, other guests started filing in and food was served. Kele saw Coi whisper in Dom’s ear as he was chatting with his aunt and became immediately suspicious. His suspicion only grew when Dom responded with a laugh. Nothing happened for a while, so he let it go. Dom caught back up to him just as the sun was setting, greeting him with a kiss that tasted vaguely like iced coffee.</p>
<p>	“Hi,” Dom looked content. The sun had brought out the freckles dotting his cheekbones and warmed his face, which he pressed into Kele’s neck. </p>
<p>	“Good party?”</p>
<p>	“Mmm.” Dom leaned his head back, eyes closed to feel the last rays of the sun that peeked out from the horizon. “Do you want to go night swimming?” Kele noticed that the pool cover had been rolled back. </p>
<p>	“Yeah, sure,” Kele figured he could do with a relaxing swim. Dom’s hands were suddenly in his back pockets and then quickly patting his front ones. Almost as if he was making sure they were empty… Before he could do anything to stop him, Dom shoved him into the pool. Coi, surprisingly, aided him in this unjust battle by running up behind Dom and pushing him in after Kele. Dom came up sputtering, water dripping from his hair, which seemed to magically maintain form. </p>
<p>“You suck,” he splashed water in Kele’s direction. </p>
<p>“Hey, I didn’t push you in.” Kele paddled over to him, laughing. Dom pushed Kele’s hair away from his eyes</p>
<p>“Coi don’t you dare,” they heard and turned around to see Nahele holding Coi by the arm, effectively keeping her from cannon-balling into the pool. </p>
<p>“Aw, you never let me do anything fun,” she sulked. Kaniya rolled her eyes and went to get Coi’s swimsuit from the bag. Coi flashed a grin and ran off to change. </p>
<p>“Do you have yours?” Dom asked, wrapping his arms loosely around Kele’s waist. Kele spun in slow circles in the water.</p>
<p>“Yeah, but my clothes are already wet now,” He bumped his forehead against Dom’s, smiling calmly. They ended up near the edge of the pool, so Kele took the opportunity to pull his soaked shirt off and toss it onto the concrete. </p>
<p>“Oh, that’s nice,” Dom said playfully, running his hands down Kele’s chest and abs, making a big deal of it. Kele laughed and kissed him softly. </p>
<p>“You are,” he leaned back into the corner, “so ridiculous. I love you.” It seems redundant to say that he smiled again, mostly because he had never stopped. They kissed again, and this time it tasted of chlorine.</p>
<p>“Get a room!” They heard Coi yell. She jumped right over their heads and landed in a cannonball closeby, showering them with water again. </p>
<p>“Dominic, can you please turn on the lights out here, and the pool light?” Thea called, having noticed how dark it had gotten. Dom threw up a thumbs up and finally got out of the pool. Kele trailed behind him, grabbing his shirt to hang it over the fence. He found his swimming suit in the bag his mom had brought and then threw Ahanu his. </p>
<p>“C’mon, man. Live a little.” He followed Dom into the house. </p>
<p>“Don’t take too long, loverboys,” Coi yelled suggestively from the pool. Kele heard a faint reprimand, probably from his mom. He pushed Dom against the first wall he could find, sliding a hand up Dom’s shirt. </p>
<p>“Nope,” Ahanu said, walking through them, pushing them apart. </p>
<p>“Cockblock.”</p>
<p>“I’m not watching or listening to that shit here, just get changed.” Ahanu flipped them off and closed the bathroom door. </p>
<p>“Isn’t he, like, 12?” Dom asked, hands warm on Kele’s waist.</p>
<p>“What can I say, Coi’s a bad influence,” Kele smirked into Dom’s neck. Dom shuddered and tipped his head back to give Kele more access.</p>
<p>“As you stand here doing exactly what he told you not to.”</p>
<p>“He’s not the boss of me. Besides, you’re an accomplice in this.”</p>
<p>“You’re a little shit.” Dom pulled Kele off by his hair and left to go to the other bathroom. Kele shook the cloud out of his head and followed suit. <br/>Kele managed to land as close as possible to Coi without hitting her, making her scream and fall over to get out of the way. Dom did the same to Kele, landing right as he came up. As soon as he could, Kele tackled Dom, who distracted him with kisses to escape. Ahanu, yet again, broke them apart by forcing his way in between them, this time by the way of jumping into the pool right next to them. </p>
<p>“Ugh, go away!” Kele flicked water at his little brother without looking, more focused on Dominic.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. I'm Coming Out (Better Get This Party Started)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Short and sweet coming out scene. I have a couple different ideas surrounding Kele's coming out, since his boyfriend has already been out for some time. I might write some other ones and put them on here too.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i am not ashamed to use P!nk lyrics as a title name. this short is kinda short and dumb but eh, who cares. Not like anyone's gonna read this anyway.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Coi shoved her way through the group of girls who were gathered around Kele. One girl huffed at her in annoyance. Coi flipped her off and threw herself into the chair next to Kele. He looked relieved and turned to talk to her as a way to block out everyone else. Didn’t they have anything better to do? Kele used to think things like this only happened in the 90’s movies.</p>
<p>“This needs to stop,” he said. She raised her eyebrows, urging him to elaborate. </p>
<p>	“All the girls, like, flocking around me. Like, I get it, I’m hot, but I’m taken,” He sighed. Coi looked thoughtful. </p>
<p>	“You could always, like, tell everyone,” she suggested, “I’ll fight anyone who gives you shit.” He looked at her and then over at the table full of girls, who all blushed and smiled at him. He rolled his eyes on instinct and turned back to Coi. </p>
<p>“I hate to say it, but I think you’re right,” he looked unhappy about this revelation. </p>
<p>“What are you going to do?” she asked casually.</p>
<p>“Something stupid.” He stood up and climbed on top of the table. Coi complained and moved her lunch. He already had the attention of the whole lunchroom, but he yelled <br/>anyway. </p>
<p>“Hey!” he looked mildly awkward but continued after taking a deep breath. “I have a boyfriend.” The lunchroom descended into chaos. Some of the girls looked like they were going to cry. </p>
<p>“Who?” came the question from an unknown source.</p>
<p>“Dominic Malachi. You know him.” he paused to let the yelling commence again. A few people had their phones out and were either texting rapidly or taking a picture of him. His job here was done, so he climbed down from the table and went back to eating his lunch as if nothing had happened. Coi rolled her eyes in an annoyance that only a sibling could have. </p>
<p>“Have I told you lately that you’re stupid?” She asked blandly, not caring to hear a response, which he didn’t offer. She knew the answer was yes. <br/>No more than five minutes later, his phone lit up on the table, vibrating at least three times successively. All of them were from Dominic, likely in all caps.</p>
<p>-WHAT DID U DO????<br/>-WHY IS EVERYONE TEXTING ME<br/>-WHAT</p>
<p>Kele sighed deeply as he read Dominic’s messages. Maybe this had been a mistake.</p>
<p>-I kind of told everyone we’re dating- he replied, bouncing his leg while he waited for a response.</p>
<p>-oh okay :)- was the response he got. He let out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding in a sigh of relief. A heavy hand fell on his shoulder and the relief morphed into mild concern. He turned his head cautiously to see the vice principal standing over him. She was a nice lady, if a little lacking in social skills.</p>
<p>“When you’re finished up with your lunch, the guidance counselor would like to see you in his office.” Her speech always came off as robotic and stiff. In his four years at Midpoint High School, he had never been to see the guidance counselor. The school counselor, sure, but only regarding college. </p>
<p>“Can I ask why?” He wondered, wondering if he should be preparing himself for an influx of unnecessary reminders that their school prided itself on being very open-minded. He had been indigenous for long enough to know by now that talk was a bunch of bullshit.</p>
<p>“He didn’t specify. I wouldn’t be too worried.” She shrugged and patted his shoulder before leaving to lecture a group of sophomore boys for throwing food at the ceiling to see if it would stick. </p>
<p>“Well, I think you should be worried,” Coi commented, poking at her salad. He nodded faintly in agreement, becoming slowly aware of the crowd still around him. Most of them were standing around awkwardly, waiting for him to do or say something else. </p>
<p>“What?” he demanded coarsely. Most of the crowd scattered, but a few stayed behind, vibrating with unasked questions. Jessie plopped down beside him. She was one of the few people in this school he thought was cool, mostly because she was gay and therefore didn’t hit on him. </p>
<p>“Welcome to the club, kiddo.” She clapped him on the shoulder. He raised his eyebrows. </p>
<p>“Kiddo? Jess, I’m, like, a foot taller than you.” He teased, leaning back in his chair. There was a good chance she was coming down from a high right now, so he played along. </p>
<p>“I’m older,” she shot back, “So. You and Dom, huh? Any truth to his name?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. He cocked his head in confusion, unsure what she was trying to insinuate. To his left, Coi snorted. It suddenly clicked in his mind and he felt a blush staining his cheeks.</p>
<p>“Oh my god, Jessie,” He pressed his face into open palms. Coi only laughed harder. </p>
<p>“What? Are you gonna answer the question or what?” she laughed, completely unashamed of the question she had asked. </p>
<p>“Jessie, Jessie, oh my god, haha,” Coi said through laughter, “There is absolutely no truth to his name, I just need you to know that. Kele won’t say it but it’s true.” She dissolved into giggles and Jessie cracked up. Kele buried his face in his arms, leaning on the table. Is this what his life is going to be like now?</p>
<p>“I’m just gonna,” he stood up, “I’m just gonna go.” He wandered off to find the guidance counselor’s office, trying to calm himself down before he got there. He knocked softly before entering, stepping halfway into the room. It smelled sterile, like new carpeting and too much hand sanitizer. There were motivational posters on the slightly-yellowed walls and worn-out stress toys on the desk.</p>
<p>“Uh, hi?” he said. Behind the desk, a balding head popped up. </p>
<p>“Oh! Kele, yes, come in. Sorry, I didn’t even hear you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Love Will Get Us Through This Wreck (pt. 1)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Date nights are always nice, especially when you know there's a second half to look forward to at home. A homicidal homophobe pulling a hit and run, though? Not exactly what Dom and Kele had in mind for their evening. <br/>--<br/>“You’re getting dangerously close there,” Kele muttered, voice deep. Dom grinned and stopped, squeezing one last time. They were close to town anyway, he figured he’d be getting it soon either way. </p><p>“I never said you had to stop,” Kele said silkily, slowing for a stop sign. <br/>-<br/>“911, what’s your emergency?” a woman answered with the beginnings of a script. Kele let the phone sit on his leg in speaker mode.</p><p>“Help, please, I,” his words caught on the sob in his throat, “I need help.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I cannot begin to tell you how handy it is to know exactly what goes on in the back of an ambulance (I'm an EMT). <br/>Anyway, there are three parts to this and the middle one is the longest. the last one kind of gives something away that I haven't added in here yet, but I'll try to add it right after this trio.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“We should get out of here,” Dominic whispered in Kele’s ear. They were both leaning over the small, circular table of a semi-fancy restaurant. It wasn’t too often they had a chance to go out for a nice dinner date, and they had taken full advantage of the long weekend. They had long since finished their meals and were now just sitting and enjoying each other’s company. For the past five minutes, Kele had been alarmingly flirtatious and touchy. Dom took it as a sign that he might be sore tomorrow. Kele, unsurprisingly, agreed, pulling out his card to pay the bill. Dominic glared, but Kele caught it before he could say anything.</p><p>“Hey, you paid last time,” he reminded Dom, handing it to the waitress without taking his eyes off his boyfriend. When the waitress came to return his card, they were staring softly at each other, hands intertwined on the table. </p><p>“Y’all have a good night,” she said with a charming smile, “you two are so cute.” They thanked her and walked back through the restaurant, leaning on each other. Kele pressed Dom up against the side of the car and kissed him, just once. He pulled away and got in the car, leaving Dom flustered and red. He slid into the passenger seat still blushing and took his revenge by reaching over and resting a hand high on Kele’s thigh while he drove. There was some scattered conversation, but most of the ride was spent in comfortable silence, the radio playing a half-static pop song. Dominic continued to rub his hand along Kele’s thigh, moving up slowly, nearly imperceptibly. Nearly.</p><p>“You’re getting dangerously close there,” Kele muttered, voice deep. Dom grinned and stopped, squeezing one last time. They were close to town anyway, he figured he’d be getting it soon either way. </p><p>“I never said you had to stop,” Kele said silkily, slowing for a stop sign. </p><p>“Oh, so you want me to just-” Dominic’s insinuating reply was cut off by a truck smashing into the side of the car. Everything faded into slow motion upon impact. Kele had maybe a second to figure out what was going on. His hands were displaced from the wheel and felt his body jerk, hitting the door. The only sounds he could hear were the screeching of metal on the asphalt and his own heartbeat. The entire car tilted on its side, held up only by the vehicle that had hit them. Kele was unsure whether he was moving his head or if his head was just spinning. There was a pain in his left side and a pounding in his head. He couldn’t move, the result of a combination of gravity and several probable injuries, until the truck backed up, letting their car crash down to the ground, and drove away. He looked frantically through his window and caught a glimpse of something on the truck. He closed his eyes and committed it to memory, knowing it would come in handy during the investigation. There was a heavy, repetitive sound that drilled into his head, muffling his ears and fogging his vision, shrouding him from the world. He suddenly realized that it was the sound of his own breathing. There was new pressure on his right shoulder, light but persistent. He shifted and immediately cried out, pain lancing through his side. He looked down at his shoulder and cried again, only this time in anguish. Dominic was leaned against his shoulder, eyes closed and face bloody. </p><p>“No! No, Dominic, baby, wake up, WAKE UP!” he shouted, but there was nothing he could do. He moved his right hand cautiously, trying not to displace Dominic from here he landed. His phone was in the cupholder, so he picked it up slowly and dialed 911 with shaking fingers. </p><p>“911, what’s your emergency?” a woman answered with the beginnings of a script. Kele let the phone sit on his leg in speaker mode.</p><p>“Help, please, I,” his words caught on the sob in his throat, “I need help.” There was nothing else he could think of to say, too disoriented to think. </p><p>“What’s wrong, sir? How can I help?” she seemed far more alert after he spoke to her. He heaved a sob, which was quickly followed by a groan of pain. </p><p>“Accident.” He breathed out slowly. </p><p>“What kind of accident? Can you tell me where you are?” she asked, not unkindly but rather sternly.</p><p>“Intersection,” Kele looked through the windshield, squinting past the spider-webbed glass, “Brooksfield and… DeMarco.” He hoped he was reading those correctly. </p><p>“Are you hurt? Is there anyone else with you?” she asked. He let out a choked sob at the mention of the other passenger.</p><p>“Yes, yes, my boyfriend is hurt and I can’t- I can’t,” his voice dissolved into shaky sobs that sent waves of pain through his chest and abdomen. He hissed and tried to stay still, tilting his head back into the seat. </p><p>“Alright, we’re sending someone to you now, just hang tight,” her voice seemed gentler and her words were comforting. He wondered if she was a mother. He could hear his own mother’s advice in his head, telling him to stay awake. He fumbled his hand, trying and failing to unbuckle his seat belt several times before he succeeded, breathing hard and fast by the end of it, pain lancing through his side. He rested his head back on the seat and gasped for breath. Gritting his teeth, he did the same to Dom’s seatbelt and let it slide into position. Dom’s head still rested on Kele’s shoulder, a bead of blood dripping down his forehead. Should he leave him where he was or pull him into his lap? Was the pain worth taking Dom away from broken glass and a caved-in door? His eyes fluttered, heavy, and he forced himself awake. He didn’t know how long he stayed in a cycle of wondering those same questions over and over again until there were lights flashing through the cracked windshield. His door was wrenched open and he came face to face with a frantic-looking EMT. She and the rest of her crew made to remove him from the wreckage, but he lashed out at the thought of leaving Dom.</p><p>“No! No no no, get him, get Dominic first, TAKE HIM FIRST!” Even injured, his resistance was enough to force them to put him back where he’d been. </p><p>“Sir, we need to get you out of the vehicle-” an older man tried to talk him down. </p><p>“No, no, take him, TAKE HIM! He’s hurt bad, please, take him first, he needs help,” Kele could feel tears rolling down his face, screwed up in an ugly cry. He had to go to the hospital first. Why didn’t they understand?</p><p>“Kiddo, we’re gonna get you out of here and then him, we’re gonna get you onto the ambulances, and then we’re gonna get you both to the hospital. We need to do this as soon as possible, okay?” The older man knelt down to Kele’s level and looked him in the eye. Kele said nothing but fell limp in their grasp, letting them lift him from the car and onto the stretcher, one woman’s hands cold on his neck even through her gloves. They rolled him a short distance away and lifted the cot so he could see Dominic being carefully extricated from the car. They put a stabilizing collar around his neck while he watched Dominic’s limp form be placed on another stretcher and hooked up to the oxygen tank, similar to what the EMT above him was trying to do. </p><p>“Sir, what’s your name and date of birth?” The woman asked gently as he was being rolled to the second ambulance. The one Dom was in already had its doors closed and was preparing to leave for the hospital. </p><p>“Kele Greenwood. November second, 2000,” he slurred through the oxygen mask, closing his eyes at the bright internal lights of the ambulance. </p><p>“Which makes you how old?” She was testing his level of consciousness, he recognized. </p><p>“Eighteen.” His arm ached and every time the ambulance hit a bump there was a new wave of pain in his left chest area. Broken ribs, probably. He cried out in pain when the other, middle-aged man moved his arm to attach a wire. </p><p>“Sorry, kiddo, just try and keep that arm close to your chest for me, okay?” The man apologized and moved to his other side to work on getting an IV in. He tried not to look.</p><p>“Okay, Kele,” his name sounded foreign coming from her unpracticed tongue but at least it took his attention from the needle in his arm, “I’m just gonna do a quick assessment here, you tell me if anything hurts.” She proceeded to work her way down his body. He shouted when she palpated his ribs and she pulled her hands away. </p><p>“Sorry about that,” she moved down to his stomach, “On a scale of one to ten, what would you rate your pain when I just did that?” </p><p>“Ten,” he said shortly. He hoped Dom wasn’t in pain, hoped he was still unconscious and would be until he got some pain medication in his system. </p><p>“Okay, I’m gonna check your pelvis now,” she informed him, which was a nice warning because she had to grab his hips. She moved down to his thighs and calves, checking for any other breaks. She had pulled his shirt up earlier to check for bruising, but now she pulled out trauma shears and apologized tenfold before cutting his short off, gingerly snipping at the sleeve on his broken arm. He felt consciousness slipping away from him more and more, only opening his eyes when a jolt of pain brought him back. The hospital was a short drive away, but time seemed stretched as he worried about his boyfriend’s condition. Whatever the paramedic had given him for pain had an effect on his level of drowsiness and he quickly gave in to the stilted darkness of drug-induced sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Love Will Get Us Through This Wreck (Pt. 2)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Part 2 of the accident, much is revealed, there's a reappearance of everyone's least favorite, David, and Nurse Derek is extremely helpful.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Meh, I've written better scenes, but it's alright. Drop a like or comment.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Dominic Malachi, where is he?” Coi slammed her hands on the table of the nurse’s station. She looked a mess; her hair was a bird’s nest and she was wearing pajamas. This all made sense as it was 12:43 in the morning. The nurse sitting in front of the computer there only blinked up at her. </p><p>“Name?” she asked, sounding just as unpleasant as she looked. </p><p>“Coi Greenwood,” Coi blurted out before cursing herself internally for not lying.</p><p>“Sorry, hon, only family,” the nurse barely feigned sympathy. Coi fought back tears and smacked her palm on the counter again, albeit weakly.</p><p>“I am his family, damn it!” She cried, dropping her head in defeat. Then she remembered who she had received the call on account of anyway. </p><p>“Kele. Kele Greenwood, my brother. Is he here?” she demanded, tightening her grip on the counter. Her anxiety spiked as the woman typed at her computer very slowly. </p><p>“Okay, he’s in room 113, would you like a nurse to escort you?” Maybe she was just a secretary? A blond nurse was rounding the corner just then. </p><p>“Are you Coi Greenwood?” he asked upon seeing her. She nodded blankly, wondering how he knew her. </p><p>“Yeah. My mom’s on her way…” Coi’s mother was the Sheriff and had been the first to receive the call. Unfortunately, she and Nahele were an hour away on a weekend trip for their anniversary, so she called Coi to go ahead of them.</p><p>“Your brother asked if you were here,” he explained, leading her away. He stopped outside the door and Coi asked, “What do you know about the accident?”</p><p>“It’s… complicated,” he looked pained to say so, “it was a hit and run. Someone ran a light and hit the passenger side.”</p><p>“Well, that sounds pretty straightforward to me. What’s so complicated about it?” Coi’s brow was creased with confusion. A horrible thought poked at the back of her mind. </p><p>“Upon further investigation of traffic cameras, police say that the truck showed no signs of hitting the brakes. It was seen parked for a long time on that street and seemed to speed up to hit them. Plates were deliberately covered, too.” The nurse-- Derek, his nametag said-- only confirmed her suspicions.</p><p>“So, you’re saying…” she closed her eyes to calm herself.</p><p>“They’re saying it looks planned,” Derek said quietly, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“Hate crime,” tears slipped down her cheeks now. Derek nodded, opening the door. Kele was asleep in the hospital bed, his dark skin standing out against its stark white sheets.</p><p>“He’s alright, just a few broken bones and a moderate concussion,” Derek told her, answering her question before she even asked it. He opened his mouth to say more, made a face, but ultimately decided to tell her anyway.</p><p>“He also might be a bit hoarse when he wakes up,” he explained, “EMTs said he was screaming.”</p><p>“In pain? Oh, my god!” Coi was alarmed.</p><p>“No, no. For Dominic. I- they told me he wouldn’t let them take him until Mr. Malachi was taken care of. One of the EMTs was crying herself after seeing your brother so distressed.” Derek broke the news to her cautiously. Coi digested the news for a long moment, near-collapsing into the chair and taking hold of her brother’s hand.</p><p>“I have not seen my brother cry since he was eleven years old,” she admitted softly. She remembered hearing him sobbing in his room with the doors locked. Being around nine years old at the time, she was curious, knocking on his door every five minutes and asking everyone in the house what was wrong, but no one seemed to know. The event was eventually forgotten, but now Coi wondered again. A question for when Kele woke up, maybe.</p><p>“And Dominic? How is he?” She looked back to Derek, worried. </p><p>“Dominic, because he was on the passenger side, was not as lucky as your brother,” Derek began, “He’s stable but only just. He suffered multiple broken bones and fractures on the right side of his body along with a likely severe concussion and major blood loss. He’s in Intensive Care if you’d like to see him and his parents are on the way. Do you have any idea what time yours will be here?” Coi traced a heart on the back of Kele’s hand and got up to follow Derek to the ICU. They walked through the halls, which were eerily silent at this time of night, in silence. As they rode the elevator to the fourth floor, Coi’s brain kicked back in.</p><p>“Oh, my god, I left Ahanu at home alone.” She pulled out her phone in such a hurry she nearly threw it across the elevator. She followed Derek blindly when the elevator doors pinged open, walking with her phone to her ear.</p><p>“Mom! Where are you right now?” There was a pause. “Because I left Ahanu at home! Can you go grab him before you come here? I’ll call him and tell him you’re on your way.” Derek opened the doors to the ICU and Coi walked in without looking, listening intently to what her mother was saying.</p><p>“Okay, I love you, bye.” she hung up and immediately called her brother. It took multiple tries for him to pick up, seeing as it was around one in the morning. </p><p>“I’m a room away from you, Coi,” Ahanu complained as soon as he answered, voice rough and slow. </p><p>“Ahanu, get some clothes on, mom and dad are coming to pick you up,” Coi paced in circles.</p><p>“What? Why? Where are you?” Ahanu asked.</p><p>“At the hospital, but don’t freak out. Mom will explain when she gets there. Bye, love you.” She hung up and turned back to Derek. </p><p>“You all good?” he asked, walking them to Dom’s area. She nodded and watched him pull back the curtain. Upon seeing Dom’s face, mottled by bruising and cuts, she promptly burst into tears. It was difficult to think that he looked peaceful when there was blood dried to his face and one side of his head was covered in gauze, though his unconscious face did appear restful.</p><p>“Oh, my god, my baby! Dominic, baby!” Coi whirled around to see Thea rushing in. She was already crying, and Coi ran over to comfort her. It seemed like a long way to run even though it was only a few steps. Nothing felt real at the moment.</p><p>“Oh, baby, is your brother alright?” Thea wrapped her up in a hug. Together, they crowded around Dom’s bed.</p><p>“Yes, he’s fine.” Coi let Thea take the chair. She pulled up close to the hospital bed. Coi watched as she lovingly pushed Dominic’s wild curls away from his forehead and dropped a soft kiss there. Swallowing hard, she checked her phone to see whether her own mother had arrived yet. </p><p>“Oh my god,” came another, less familiar, voice. Coi looked up to see David Malachi. She was a bit surprised to see him, seeing as the last time she’d seen him was at the party for Dominic’s last home game of the season and he’d admonished both Anna and Dominic for being gay before leaving without so much as a goodbye. </p><p>“Are you the father, then?” Derek stepped forward to shake his hand.</p><p>“Only biologically,” Thea remarked coldly, rising from her chair “What are you doing here, David?” Coi’s phone buzzed, thank God, and she tried to sneak back to Kele’s room and to escape the tension between Thea and David without them noticing. No dice.</p><p>“Are you his girlfriend?” Unfortunately, David shifted his attention to Coi as she slipped past him. She stared at him in disbelief that someone who could be so stupid.</p><p>“No, you massive idiot, I’m his boyfriend’s sister. Don’t act like you didn’t know that.” With that, she left the room. Jesus Christ, David was about to catch hell from Thea for saying that. On her way back down, her thoughts wandered back to that old memory of Kele crying when he was eleven. She thought about what had happened around that time. It had been shortly after his eleventh birthday in early November. It was a new school year and he was starting fifth grade in middle school. Maybe he was bullied because of his native heritage? Or maybe, she realized, maybe eleven was when he started to realize that he liked boys and it terrified him to tears? She shook herself from her thoughts and opened the door. Her parents and Ahanu were standing around the bed, Kaniya sitting in the chair and holding his hand. Kele looked peaceful, with only the cuts on his face taking away from the picture. </p><p>“Did anyone tell you what happened?” Coi asked, shoving her hands in her pajama pockets. She missed the mark on trying to be casual. Kaniya shook her head.</p><p>“Just that he should be waking up shortly,” Nahele told her. He had a hand on Ahanu’s shoulder. Ahanu was looking very vulnerable, staring blankly at his older brother laying in a hospital bed. </p><p>“Okay, I’ll give you the Cliff Notes version. It was a hit and run and police suspect foul play. Mom, I expect you’ll hear more soon. The truck hit their car on the passenger side, so Dominic took the brunt of the impact. Kele has, I think, at least one broken bone, probably an arm or a rib, and a concussion.” She recited what Derek had told her earlier.</p><p>“It’s both. Three broken ribs and a broken arm” Came a hoarse voice. Kele had woken while she was delivering the prognosis. Everyone turned to him and started talking at the same time. </p><p>“Oh, wow, your voice is shot,” Coi commented, which pulled the attention back to her. She had forgotten to include that bit of information.</p><p>“What caused that?” Kaniya worried aloud, concern lining her face as she directed her question to Coi more than Kele. Coi didn’t think he looked particularly inclined to answer that anyway.</p><p>“Screaming, mostly,” Coi said softly, looking at Kele, who was very intentionally avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room. </p><p>“Like, from pain?” Ahanu asked shakily. He’d undoubtedly never seen Kele look so vulnerable before now. Kele was quick to notice his anxious state and immediately denied this.</p><p>“No, no, Ahanu,” he reached out to grab his brother’s hand, wincing slightly, “Well, yeah, but I was just--.” Kele stopped in the middle of his sentence, struggling to find the right word. Ahanu was only twelve. What could get the point across but at the same time not traumatize the kid? Kele wasn’t about to tell his baby brother that he screamed and cried because the love of his life was slumped, motionless and bleeding, against his shoulder and he couldn’t do a thing to help him.  </p><p>“I was scared,” he finished tentatively. It was the truth, technically. </p><p>“Oh. Do you want a drink?” Ahanu held out the cup of water from Kele’s desk. Kele accepted it and drank quickly, soothed by the cool water on his damaged throat. He knew no one else bought his response. They knew he was holding back to spare Ahanu the horror of what had happened. </p><p>“Did you hear what I said about the accident? How the police don’t think it was an accident?” Coi asked Kele directly, wondering what his take on the situation was.</p><p>“Yeah. They’re right.” Kele shifted, squinting his eyes toward her. When she realized what he was doing, she asked, “Do you want me to dim the lights?”. </p><p>“Please.”</p><p>“Okay, so you don’t think it was an accident either?” She asked for clarification as she turned the dial, darkening the room just enough that it was comfortable for Kele but allowed her to see his face. </p><p>“Oh, I know it wasn’t. That bastard probably had this planned for weeks.” Kele glowered, anger clear in his voice. Coi narrowed her eyes across the room. This was something new. Kele knew who it was?</p><p>“You know who did this? But police said his plates were covered.” She crossed her arms and waited for his explanation. She could hear him huff in annoyance from clear across the room. </p><p>“He can hide plates all he wants, but he can’t hide that stupid bumper sticker.” Again, not something that had been mentioned before now. Coi waved her hand for him to expand on this new information.</p><p>“It was Jack freakin’ Staman, Coi. In his big, red, souped-up truck with that dumbass flag that screams white supremacist,” Kele was getting worked up because a nurse stuck her head in the door to make sure he was alright. He waved her off but asked if the police were still at the hospital. She said no but said she’d call them for him. </p><p>“Hey, while we’re waiting you all could go visit Dominic,” Coi suggested as a subtle way to get them out of the room, “He’s on the fourth floor in the ICU. Thea’s up there, and David.”</p><p>“David’s here?” Kele exclaimed, clearly surprised that Dom’s father would dare to show up, even at a time like this. </p><p>“Yeah, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was gone already. He asked if I was Dom’s girlfriend when he knows damn well who I am, so I’m assuming he caught major flack for that from Thea. I left the room before that started.” Coi’s face alone expressed how much she didn’t want to be a part of that. Kele chuckled lightly, grimacing when it jostled his arm and the bruises on his chest. </p><p>“Okay. We’ll be back, baby,” Kaniya blew him a kiss and they headed toward the ICU. As soon as the door shut behind them, Coi made a beeline for the chair next to Kele’s bed. He narrowed his eyes, suspicious of her intentions.</p><p>“What’s up, little fish?” He pulled out an old nickname. How ironic, Coi thought, because she was about to dig around in the past.</p><p>“So… nurse Derek--”</p><p>“Ooh, nurse Derek,” Kele interrupted slyly, wiggling his eyebrows at her.</p><p>“Shut up. He’s the one who told me about your throat. You made an EMT cry, by the way.” Kele’s face was stricken, unsure where this very one-sided conversation was headed.</p><p>“And see, when he told me that I remembered the last time you cried.” Coi forged on, “It was when you were eleven. I had forgotten about it until now but I wanted to ask you what it was about. Do you remember?” In the dim light, it was hard to make out Kele’s facial expression. To Coi, he looked deep in thought, trying to remember the incident. And remembering he was. Coi remembered this? Kele had never told anyone the reason.</p><p>“I’ve never told anyone this, not even Dom,” He confided, “but I’ve had a crush on Dom since the fifth grade. And he was the reason I cried because I met him for the first time and realized, very suddenly, that I liked boys. And that made me cry, but I went to the bathroom and just cried there for a little bit. And then, later, on that same day, he got the shit kicked out of him because a bunch of older kids thought he was gay for having his ears pierced. And I saw it. And I cried because I thought they were going to beat me up if they found out I liked boys.”</p><p>“And it scared you.” Coi summarized, pulling her knees up to her chin. Kele nodded solemnly. Coi fumed silently in her chair.</p><p>“This shit sucks!” She exclaimed suddenly, hugging her knees aggressively. She heard Kele’s pillow rustle as he turned to stare at her, eyebrows raised. </p><p>“Yeah, tell me about it,” He motioned to himself with his uninjured arm. She sighed frustratedly, pushing her face into her hands. </p><p>“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t say that to disregard your situation, I’m just angry for you, I guess.” Coi said, shrugging. She looked childish in the dim light, with her knees to her chest and a pout on her face. “Feels weird to be the protector. I’m used to being the one who gets hurt.”</p><p>“Well, don’t get used to it. I’ll be out soon.” Kele leaned back against his pillow, sounding drowsy again. His breathing slowed to a point where Coi thought him asleep. </p><p>“I thought I was gonna lose him,” Kele whispered. Coi startled from where she had been starting to fall asleep. At this moment, with just the two of them there to witness a new vulnerability from Kele, Coi was touched to be able to hear Kele’s honest thoughts. His voice was soft and brutally honest, and though she couldn’t see tears in his eyes, she knew that they were there, on the verge of spilling over.</p><p>“Yeah?” </p><p>“Yeah. I don’t- I don’t know what I would do if I did. He’s the love of my life. ‘M gonna marry ‘im.” His voice faded out as he nodded off. Coi stared at his sleeping form in shock. In her mind, she had always known they were a couple that would last forever, but she never thought for a minute that Kele would be the first one to mention marriage to her. The door handle turned, signaling the return of the rest of the family. She shook her head at her dad through the window and he let the door shut quietly. He texted her that they would be back tomorrow and she could stay if she wanted to. Knowing she would wake him if she left now, she figured she would stay a little longer to keep him company.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Love Will Get Us Through This Wreck (Pt. 3)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The aftermath of the accident, in which Kele returns to school. it's important that you know that his arm is in a sling and his ribs are wrapped underneath his clothes. <br/>--<br/>“Are you serious?” he asked, “I figured you cried whenever I missed a day of school and you had nothing pretty to look at. I’ve been gone for almost a week, Bubbles.” His teacher laughed more openly now.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know this is suuuuuper short but it isn't technically finished, I just ran out of ideas so if i think of something I'll edit the chapter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Walking back into school was relatively normal because he was already used to people staring at him. He wasn’t particularly enthused to be there but he was extremely grateful for the painkillers. He didn’t expect an incident so early in the morning and was therefore unprepared for someone to call out at him while he was at his locker. </p><p>“How’s that for a coming-out gift, fag?” Someone yelled before turning to laugh with his posse of douchebags. He sighed deeply and closed his locker, swinging Coi’s messenger bag over his shoulder with difficulty- he still wasn’t used to doing things one-handed. He refused to rise to the insult, thoroughly fed up with discrimination. It wasn’t until the heckler grabbed his injured shoulder that he turned around and twisted his arm behind his back. The guy yelped and tried to pull away, but Kele’s grip tightened painfully. He breathed in sharply before leaning in close to the offender’s ear and said loudly, “You think it’s funny? Huh? You’re getting a good laugh at the expense of the guy who just got out of the hospital? Huh? Do you think it’s funny that somebody tried to kill me? Tried to kill my boyfriend? Tried to make it look like an accident?”</p><p>“N-no, sorry, I’m sorry,” he muttered quietly. </p><p>“Yeah, you are,” Kele huffed, releasing his hold and giving him a small push down the hallway. The students in the hall looked away guiltily as he turned around to walk away.</p><p>“Mr. Greenwood.” Mr. Saunders stood at the end of the hallway. Kele narrowed his eyes, remembering back a few weeks ago when his teacher had made a similar remark.</p><p>“What do you want?” he asked sharply. “Come to call me slurs again?” He saw several people gape in his peripheral when he announced their teacher’s dirty secret. Mr. Saunders’s face dropped and he retreated to his classroom without another word. Coi side-eyed him. </p><p>“When was that?” she asked, falling into step beside him. </p><p>“A few weeks ago when I went home early.”</p><p>“Wasn’t that right after you were diagnosed-”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” he said shortly. Coi rubbed his shoulder comfortingly and left for her own class. He stood outside the classroom before going in. He got stares again and ignored them like he always did in favor of settling in his seat and preparing to proceed as if everything was normal. He might have succeeded, too, if it weren’t for Marcee. She turned around in her seat like she often did and looked at him in a calculating manner. He was quite uncomfortable by the time she actually said anything. </p><p>“You look depressed,” she informed him. He gave her a funny look, amazed at her audacity to say that to him. The student-teacher seemed to share his sentiment. </p><p>“Gee, thanks,” he replied sarcastically, “I wonder why.” His actual teacher snorted from the back of the room. </p><p>“What do you mean?” she asked. What, was she completely oblivious? </p><p>“Are you serious?” he asked, “I figured you cried whenever I missed a day of school and you had nothing pretty to look at. I’ve been gone for almost a week, Bubbles.” His teacher laughed more openly now. </p><p>“I just mean you don’t look very happy,” she clarified. </p><p>“Yeah, I know what you meant,” he brushed her aside, “obviously I’m not very happy, I have four broken bones and the love of my life almost died in front of me.” He made a ‘duh’ gesture.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Out in the Open Air</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In the closet? Not anymore! Haha, aren't the teenage years so fun? Teen heartbreak is inevitable, but it doesn't happen quite like this to most of us (I hope not, anyway). Set before anything else I've written, let's follow Dom on his coming out journey! Exciting! Inspiring! Right? No, not really. Despite what pop culture gay stereotypes might tell us, not all comin out stories are negative. But, for once, I followed the cliche (sort of). So, yeah, don't hate me &lt;3</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Jenny.” Dom grabbed his girlfriend by the elbow and pulled her away from the rest of the group. She looked annoyed. He knew she was already annoyed at him right now--something about a lack of public displays of affection and even limitations in contact behind closed doors. He dragged her into a short, dead-end hallway where no one ever bothered to acknowledge the spider webs enough to dust them away.  </p><p>“What, Dominic?” She crossed her arms. Ouch, the full name already. This was not going to go well. He let go of her arm and took a long breath. </p><p>“Jenny, I’m sorry,” he rushed, “I’m so sorry.” He was already anxious to the point of stress pimples along his hairline. </p><p>“What are you talking about?” She was clearly confused now as well as annoyed. </p><p>“Jenny, I brought you here because I need to tell you something and I didn’t want to do it in front of everyone and god,” Dom said, speaking quietly just in case, “but I have to admit it, to you and to myself.” He was already shaking. </p><p>“Jenny, I’m really sorry for the way things have been lately, I know you’re pissed because I don’t kiss you enough or whatever.” Probably not the best way to phrase it.</p><p>“Excuse me?” Jenny took offense to his flippancy on the subject, hands traveling to her waist. </p><p>“I’m gay!” he blurted out in a whisper-shout, hands flying everywhere. He was sure he looked a mess, terrified and relieved at the same time, but nothing compared to the shock and disgust that painted itself across Jenny’s face. </p><p>“What?” her voice was deathly quiet, every bit of anger and disappointment seeping into one word. She stared at him as he stood there helplessly, truth hanging in the air between them. </p><p>“I’m gay, Jenny,” he whispered, now looking at the ground, “I’m sorry I can’t date you. I’m sorry I tried to keep myself bottled up and I’m sorry it had to come to this.”</p><p>“So you used me to look straight?” She accused.</p><p>“No! No, of course not, Jenny. I did like you--do like you,” he assured her quickly, hating that she would ever think that of him, “I just don’t like you in that way. You were not an experiment, okay? I have spent the last two years wondering, and I spent the last two weeks wishing I hadn’t figured it out. Alright? I just wanted to be normal. Be like everyone else.” He shrank behind the words that came out of his mouth, wishing they weren’t true. This was normal. He was normal. Even despite all the sincerity he’d poured into this apology and explanation, she huffed at the end of his spiel and stalked off toward the cafeteria, long hair swaying behind her. He stood there watching her go, praying to whatever god who had betrayed him that she would keep his truth to herself. Head hung, he started after her, already thinking about where he would sit for lunch if not by her side. Maybe he’d go eat in the library and hang out with the rest of the weirdos and rejects. As he neared the cafeteria, where students were separated by clique into overcrowded tables, each of them holding their own conversations, he heard Jennifer yell to claim attention. </p><p>“Hey!” She yelled, “Just so all the football stars know, I am now single.” Dominic winced at her sarcastic voice. He wondered if she knew he was there. He didn’t wonder for very long, because he got caught on the next words out of her mouth.</p><p>“Dominic Malachi, ya know, my ex, is gay!” She said loudly. The room descended into shocked silence. It had never been so loud. Dominic saw the first few faces turn in his direction. They were staring, laughing, frowning, angry at him for leading Jenny on, sympathetic. The silence erupted into fifty different conversations, most of them pointed in his direction. Faces stuck out of the crowd, mouths open and hurling taunts and slurs. His chest was tight, forcing air in and out of his lungs. He could hear his heart speeding up, pounding against his ribs. His eyes flicked around the room, each time landing on a different person with the same facial expression as the last. When they finally stopped, they landed on the back of Jenny’s head. As he stared, she turned around in slow motion, hair whipping around her, and looked him dead in the eyes. He swallowed and everything around him quieted down again. In this instance, it was just the two of them staring at each other. He stared in fear and sadness while she stared in a challenge she had already won. Before he could look away and admit defeat, his line of sight was blocked by another, different, head of hair. Arwen, his best friend since the second day of kindergarten, strode across the lunch room with anger in her eyes, reflectant like a lit match between the teeth. Before either of them could assume what her next move might be, she drew back her hand and slapped Jenny across the face. The sound echoed through the <br/>room, bouncing between the pillars and various students. No doubt, they were all thinking the same three thoughts.</p><p>Holy shit, Jenny Holbrook just got bitchslapped.<br/>Holy shit, Jenny Holbrook just got bitchslapped by Arwen Li, a.k.a the sweetest person to grace this hellsite of a school.<br/>Holy shit, Jenny Holbrook just got bitchslapped by Arwen Li, a.k.a the sweetest person to grace this hellsite of a school, after publicly outing her now-ex- boyfriend.</p><p>	Dominic stood there and gaped unattractively as the scene played out in front of him. He had never seen Arwen express such righteous anger in an act of violence. As he watched, Arwen leaned in close to Jenny, jabbing a finger into her chest. Dominic couldn’t hear what Arwen said to her, not that it changed Jenny’s attitude--her shocked look was a result of the slap. Arwen finally let up and stomped back over to Dom, looping her arm through his and dragging him off to somewhere safe and quiet and leaving Jenny to rub at the sore spot on her chest that was sure to be a bruise in the near future. He let her, vision blurring as reality finally made its way to his brain. Everyone knew. Everyone in that lunch room, which would lead to the whole school, maybe other schools. Maybe it would make it all the way to his dad. Oh, shit, his dad. Ah, well. That tool would find out eventually, it might as well be now. Back in the present tense, Arwen had finally gotten him to… wherever this place was… and sat him down on an old sofa with questionable stains on its ugly tartan fabric. He suddenly realized that he’d been hyperventilating for the last five minutes and grabbed onto Arwen’s forearms to ground himself. </p><p>“Nicky, come here, come back,” her voice was echoey, as if she were underwater, “it’s okay, you’re okay. Just breathe.” As sound sharpened and he could hear her more clearly, he found himself choking back a sob. </p><p>“Why--why would she do that?” He’d never felt so raw, like his outer layer had been peeled back so that everyone could see him in his most vulnerable state. Arwen pulled her arms away only to join him on the couch and let him lean into her, holding him while he cried. How could she do that? Betray their years as friends and months as significant others over him finally admitting his truth. And for what? Vengeance? Attention? Cruelty?</p><p>“I don’t know, Nicky, I don’t know,” she told him softly, rubbing his back. He finally pulled back enough to look around.</p><p>“Where are we?” He managed a whisper. The room was unfamiliar but he knew they were still in the school. He would have remembered going outside. </p><p>“It’s a teacher’s lounge, but no one ever uses it,” Arwen said. Dom sniffled, scrubbing at his face to wipe away the tears.</p><p>“Mom, I gotta--I gotta call my mom,” he stumbled over his words, “I gotta tell her.” He fumbled around in Arwen’s arms, pulling his phone from his back pocket. Arwen plucked it from between his shaking fingers and called Thea for him, handing it back for him to talk to her. </p><p>“Baby, what’s wrong?” Thea already sounded worried. Dominic opened his mouth to reply but the only thing that came out was a fresh wave of ragged crying. Arwen offered to take the phone and tell her but he shook his head and blew out a shaky breath. </p><p>“Mamá, ella les dijo,” he slipped into spanish immediately, “¡ahora todos saben! ¿Mamá, que haré si Davíd se entera?” </p><p>“¿Qué? ¿De qué estás hablando?” Thea asked, worry rising in her voice.</p><p>“¡Que soy gay!” He cried out, voice shifting into barely more than a whisper to tell her in english, “She told everyone, mom.” </p><p>“Ay, no,” Thea whispered back, “Oh, mi cariño, I’m so sorry. I’ll be there soon, are you safe?” He made an affirmative noise, not trusting himself to speak again. This time when Arwen reached for the phone he let her take it.</p><p>“Hi, Thea, it’s Arwen,” she announced the change of speakers, “he’s okay, he’s with me in an unused lounge room.” Dom could hear his mother sigh in relief and praise God.</p><p>“Yes, just call again when you’re here.” She nodded even though Thea couldn’t see her. Arwen hung up and pulled Dom back into her arms, tossing his phone behind him. He closed his eyes and leaned into her shoulder. What would happen now that everyone knew? Maybe he really would have to join the social outcasts in the library. Would he be made fun of? Beaten up? Was it really everything that dramatic cinema made it out to be? He’d probably be forced to quit playing soccer, his one true love. Or his dad would find out and disown him, not that that meant very much. At least his mom and Anna still loved him. When he’d told them two weeks ago, on his birthday, it was like all the puzzle pieces fell into place and the first thing out of his mother’s mouth had been a long and drawn out, “oh”. Anna had nodded and pulled him into one of her bone-crushing hugs. Thea had joined them, of course, kissing Dom’s temple and whispering affirmations in his ear. </p><p>“What am I gonna do?” he murmured.</p><p>“You’re gonna figure it out, Nicky,” Arwen poked his cheek, “and you’re going to be you. For real this time.”</p><p>“How do you know?” He looked up at her miserably, eyes puffy and red. She smiled and squeezed his cheeks.</p><p>“I know you,” she told him, “and you are a survivor. It will blow over eventually, everything does.” Dom wasn’t convinced but figured he shouldn’t worry about what hasn’t happened yet. So instead, he worried about what had happened. Surely the whole school knew by now. He was positive that at least a few people had taken videos of the whole ordeal. Suddenly, the door handle turned and a janitor pushed his way into the room. He paused when he saw two teenagers staring owlishly at him from their compromising position on the couch. He shuddered to think what they were sitting on.</p><p>“Uh,” Dom stuttered, “I-- this isn’t what it looks like?” The janitor nodded wordlessly. The pair exchanged a worried look.</p><p>“I’m gay,” Dominic blurted to make it look less like they’d been making out. Not that his red eyes and tear-sticky cheeks didn’t already do that.</p><p>“Oh.” The janitor gripped his cart awkwardly. “That’s cool. My son is gay.” Dom nodded quickly. Arwen tugged on his arm and he followed her out of the room, flashing the janitor a weak smile. Arwen led him down the stairwell all the way to his locker on the first floor. She stopped just short of it and he ran right into her.</p><p>“What--?” He began, mildly annoyed, but she nodded her head to the row of lockers in front of them and he cut himself off. Written in spray paint--seriously? Who the hell brought spray paint to school with them?--across his locker was the word ‘faggot’ in angry black letters. Well, that didn’t take long, he thought cynically. He said as much to Arwen, who glared at him in return. He shrugged and opened it to get his bookbag and slammed it. He wrinkled his nose upon realizing (latently) that the paint was still wet, leaving a black smudge on his hand. Mr. Manson stuck his head out and they both spun around, straightening up at the sight of their teacher. </p><p>“Miss Li, Mr. Malachi, why aren’t you two in-- did you just graffiti that locker?” He stepped fully out of his classroom to cross his arms at them in disappointment. This was a fair assumption, as Dom was sure they both looked rather guilty in the moment.</p><p>“Mr. Manson, this is my locker,” Dom jabbed a thumb behind him, “do you think I would write that on my own locker?” Mr. Manson got a better look at it and softened somewhat, arms falling down to his sides. </p><p>“No, Mr. Malachi, I do not,” he apologized, “Are you going home?” Dom nodded, shouldering his bookbag. </p><p>“Miss Li?” He turned his gaze to her.</p><p>“I’m not leaving, I’m just staying with him until his mom gets here.” She said, hooking her arm through Dom’s again. As if on cue, his phone lit up. </p><p>“Mami, ¿estás aquí?” Dom picked up.</p><p>“Yes, I’m walking into the office now,” she answered. He heard the door swing open and the secretary greet his mom. He waved mutely at Mr. Manson and headed to <br/>the office, Arwen trailing behind him. He heard his mom before he saw her, arguing with an unknown combatant. </p><p>“Oh,” Arwen made a face, “It’s Mrs. Holbrook.”</p><p>“Aw, come on,” Dom tipped his head back in despair, “shit, I can’t, Wen. Please.” </p><p>“Nicky, there is no other way out of this school,” Arwen reminded him, “you have to.” He groaned but trudged forward anyway. Thea looked over when he walked in, earrings swinging. She was in uniform, blue scrubs and comfortable sneakers, and her face was all business. Jenny’s mom glared at him and then at Arwen.</p><p>“Excuse me, that student hit my daughter!” she exclaimed, stabbing a pristinely manicured finger in Arwen’s direction. Arwen made no move to defend herself.<br/>“And I stand by that decision,” she tossed back. Thea pulled her son against her side, rubbing his shoulder.</p><p>“¿Estás bien?” she whispered, ignoring the other conversation going on in front of them. He shook his head. She tutted and hugged him a little tighter. </p><p>“And that one broke my daughter’s heart!” Now Mrs. Holbrook pointed at him. Funny she would say that when her daughter did the same thing and worse.</p><p>“Rebecca,” Thea said in a warning tone.</p><p>“I broke her heart? I just had a panic attack because of her!” Dom informed her quietly.</p><p>“What? Why?”</p><p>“I just had one, because about fifteen minutes ago, your daughter told the entire school my biggest secret, which I told her in confidence, as an apology.” He continued, his shaky voice slowly losing control. “And I understand that I hurt her but that does not give her the right to out me. That was supposed to be mine to tell! <br/>I wasn’t ready for the world to know, and now they do.” She stared at him in obvious discomfort at his rising level of distress.</p><p>“They spray painted my locker!” He yelled, all his unspoken anger from today spilling out. “‘Faggot’! That’s what it says, it says ‘faggot’ on my locker. Fifteen minutes of knowing and a can of paint, that’s all it took.” His mother made an unhappy sound when he revealed this. Mrs. Holbrook refused to meet his gaze. He couldn’t blame her but he wanted her to see, even just for a second. He wanted her to see the pain her daughter caused him, to see the kid that was just handed a life sentence of prejudice against him for something he couldn’t control. </p><p>“And I’m not saying that Jenny got what she deserved, but I definitely didn’t,” he added in a slightly gentler tone. He turned to the secretary, who had been quietly observing. It was nearing the end of her first year of working there, as she’d been a replacement for the ancient Mrs. Bond who had finally retired last year. </p><p>“I assume you know why I’m leaving?” He asked.</p><p>“Yup, I’ll send you an email with the rest of your homework.” Yeah, she was pretty cool. He hugged Arwen again before heading out with his mom. She walked like she was still in the ER-- that is to say, very quickly-- muttering under her breath in Spanish. He didn’t catch all of it, but what he did was less than pleasant. He hugged his backpack against his chest on the way to the hospital-- his mom couldn’t take the rest of the day off and he didn’t want to be sitting alone at home all afternoon-- and closed his eyes for a moment. The whole car smelled like his mom, a warm mix of cinnamon and coffee with an undertone of sterile citrus. His mind drifted to the image of Jenny’s face, first when he told her and then to the cold, unforgiving expression she’d fixed him with in the cafeteria. What he’d told her in the hallway had been true-- he’d spent the last two years of his short life contemplating his sexuality, the question sparked by the assault from his uncle. Arwen had told him he was a survivor but he wasn’t sure if that’s what she had been referring to. Dom hated being the victim but he hated having to play the victim more. Sure, he’d been considered the victim when his dad left, him and his sister both, he’d been the victim of rape, he’d been the victim of bullying when he got his ears pierced. And now here he was, a victim of being outed. He couldn’t exactly keep it from happening, either, just had to sit there and wait for some other terrible thing to happen to him.</p>
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